President Lungu urges losers to concede defeat

President Edgar Lungu says conceding defeat in elections in most African countries is still a huge challenge.

President Lungu noted that most opposition political parties in Africa and Zambia in particular refuse to accept election results

The Head of State said for instance that the opposition UPND has already declared itself winners ahead of the August 11 polls and will not accept anything to the contrary.

President Lungu said this in Lusaka yesterday when a group of four Election observer teams paid a courtesy call on him at State House.

The missions comprised of former president of Nigeria Goodluck Jonathan under the African Union Elections Observation Mission (AUEOM) , Cassam Uteen, former President of Mauritius, under the Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa (EISA) Observer Mission, Ibrahim Gambani ,Special Envoy of the President of Nigeria and Cecile Kyenge ,chief observer for the European Union Observer Mission.

President Lungu advised all political parties in the country to know that there is life beyond being in State House.

The Head of State wondered why some political parties have gone further to state that they will not accept the Presidential results if they are not in their favour.

President Lungu said in a few hours , Zambians will choose their candidate and as Head of State he has ensured that there is a levelled playing field.

He said he is committed to giving Zambians a free, fair and credible election, which will enable citizens chose their leaders freely.

The Head of State said he has confidence in the election observers that have been sent in the country, as it will also show the world how democratic Zambia is.

The President said he is happy that most of the election monitoring teams comprise former government officials who know how it feels to being in State House.

Meanwhile African Union Elections Observation Mission Leader Goodluck Jonathan said Zambia is known worldwide as a haven of Peace.

Mr. Jonathan said very few countries can match Zambia’s record of peaceful elections and expressed optimism that the record will be maintained.

He has since appealed to President Lungu to remain magnanimous and accept everyone in the country regardless of which party they belong to.

Mr. Jonathan said his team is in the country not to look for faults but to ensure that the elections are held in a peaceful manner.

And former President of Mauritius Cassam Uteen, who is leading the Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa (EISA), thanked President Lungu for welcoming the election observers.

Mr. Uteen said Zambia is generally a peaceful country and he would love that peace is maintained before during and after elections.

He said leaders must provide the necessary support to all political parties and the electoral body to ensure smooth elections